Be My Shelter From The Rain
by LovaticFever
Summary: Dantana AU. When two people enter Santana's world in less than normal circumstances, her life gets turned upside down. She doesn't know if it's good or bad yet but she does know one thing; they're melting the ice around her heart.
1. Chapter 1

Santana was stressed and pissed off which wasn't a very good combination when it came to her. Her boss was driving her up the wall with his crazy demands and short deadlines and she was this close to introducing him to her right hook.

It was late, almost eleven at night and she was walking the lonely street from her office building to her car. She always thought it was so stupid that the office garage was so far from the office itself but she couldn't do anything about it and nether could her boss. She walked at a fast pace, not wanting to be a victim of the creeps who tended to lurk the streets this late at night.

She had almost reached her destination when she heard a small whimper coming from one of the alleys. She stopped for a second but figured it was her imagination after a while and started walking again. That is until she heard an outright sob. She stopped longer this time.

"Hello?" She called out. But there was no answer. "Great. Stress is making me go insane." She muttered to herself and no sooner did she say it than another sob was heard from the alleyway a few paces from her. She took slow, tentative steps until she reached the entrance of the alleyway. She gasped at what she saw.

Sitting in the alleyway was a girl. No, a woman. But what made her gasp was the woman's state. She was pregnant. Very pregnant. Only in New York. She looked like she was in a lot of pain and that sight made Santana forget her fears and rush over to the woman. It was super dark and she couldn't really see the woman's features but she could hear the whimpers and small sobs coming from her and she could see her eyes, her blonde hair and the hand that was resting protectively on her pregnant belly. Santana knelt before her and the woman tried to scoot back, fear evident in her eyes, but she couldn't because her back was already pressed up against the brick wall.

"It's okay. I'm here to help." Santana tried to reassure the woman but making sure she kept her hands to herself. The woman looked at Santana intensely for a moment but it was all she could manage before she bent forward and her whimpers grew louder. It took a moment but Santana's brain finally caught up with her and she realized exactly what was happening. "Oh God, you're in labor."

Santana tried to think of what to do. She wasn't cut out for stuff like this. Pregnant women in alleyways were not her forte. But she had to do something. This woman was in pain and about to have a baby. She couldn't just leave her there. She'd taker her to the hospital. Yes, her brain was finally coming up with ideas.

"Can you stand?" She asked the woman whose name she realized she did not know. The woman looked up at her, not answering. "I just want to help you, I promise. I have a car. I can take you to the hospital." Santana tried to persuade the woman. Finally, the woman nodded and Santana let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. "Okay. I'm gonna help you to stand." The woman nodded again and Santana took that as her queue. She got to her feet and bend back down to help the woman up. It took a moment but they were both now standing, the pregnant woman leaning heavily on her.

She was about to walk off, out of the alleyway and into the street but the woman stopped her with a slight tug on her jacket. "What is it?" She asked, trying not to be irritated with a pregnant, helpless woman.

The woman ignored her and instead turned around, facing the alley once more. She let go of Santana and started walking towards the back of the alley, slowly and most likely painfully.

"What are you doing?" Santana asked but the woman ignored her and kept walking. Santana didn't try to stop her, she just watched curiously as the woman walked farther into the dark alley. The woman stopped suddenly, bending down at the knees apparently looking for something. Santana figured she must have hid her purse in the alley when she heard someone coming and now she was going back to get it. She took a few steps closer to the woman to see what she was doing and boy was she shocked to see what had been hiding under the darkness of the alleyway.

Well not what, but who.

Santana hesitated before she took a few steps closer to get a better view. It was a kid. A toddler by the looks of it. She had shoulder length hair and she was wearing a dress from what Santana could see. The woman was hugging her close and whispering into her ear, words that Santana couldn't hear. So the woman had a kid and one on the way. Great.

Santana didn't hesitate this time. She walked towards the two strangers and bent down beside the woman. Luckily she did as another contraction moved through her body. She grabbed a hold of Santana jacket tightly out of reflex, trying but evidently failing to ease the pain.

The little girl-, who now that Santana was close enough, didn't seem to be more than 3, looked up at her with big beady eyes and Santana could see the tear streaks on her cheeks. She had been crying and her lips were trembling like she was about to start crying again. Santana's heart broke a little.

"It's ok, chiquitita. I'm here to help." She heard herself saying. It was something that kids did to her, brought out her soft, caring side.

She hated it.

But at this moment, she loved it.

She got up from her stooping position, carrying the girl's mother (she was her mother right?) with her and then bending down to pick the little girl up. These were the days where she thanked her boss for making her work extra shifts and demanding that she go to the gym everyday.

She walked, slowly but surely out of the alleyway and into the dimly lit street.

She was pretty sure if she told anybody this story tomorrow, they'd say she was delusional and needed more sleep because even she herself didn't know if this was real.

* * *

They made it to her car. It took a while, but they were there. Santana had strapped them both in and quickly took the driver's seat and sped off- at an appropriate speed of course. She kept glancing back at the two people in her backseat through the rear view mirror. The little girl was staring right back at her with wide beady eyes that she now realized were brown. Just like her mother's. Her hair was the same light blonde as her mother's too and it was how Santana had came to the definite conclusion that they were most definitely related.

The woman- Santana stopped. She really needed to stop calling her that.

"What's your name?" She asked. Both blonde's stared at her. The older blonde staring intensely and the younger blonde looking curious as any toddler would be in this situation.

But neither answered. Santana sighed and continued driving.

* * *

They were at the nearest hospital within a few more minutes and Santana could tell the woman's contractions were coming more and more often. She quickly stepped out of the car, opening the passenger side and unbuckling both passengers as quickly as possible. She didn't want a baby to be born in the backseat of her car. That would no doubt be expensive to clean out.

Just like in the alley, she had one blonde in one arm and the next resting heavily on the other one. They reached the entrance to the hospital and as soon as they stepped through the door, Santana cried out for assistance.

"I need some help over here!" And before she could open her mouth again, two female nurses were by her side and a male nurse was coming with a gurney. One of the nurses asked her to debrief them. "Isn't it obvious?! She's in labor!" Santana shouted, irritated with the staff already.

The male nurse helped the woman unto the gurney and they were rolling it away not soon afterwards without another word to Santana. The woman looked like she was ready to up and bolt off the gurney and toward Santana. It took her a moment to realize why. Santana was still holding the woman's kid. Before she could shut wait or tell the people pushing the gurney to stop, one of the female nurses had come up to her with some papers and a pen.

"I'm gonna need you to fill out a form for the patient." The nurse said.

"What? I don't know anything about her. I don't even know her name!" Santana almost shouted until she realized she was holding a child.

A child who was sound asleep, head resting on her shoulder.

"I thought- You don't know her?" The nurse asked, confused.

"No. I found her and her kid in an alley on my way from work. I don't know how long was there for and she won't me her name let alone all this information you want." Santana explained. Her head was starting to ached and her heels were definitely not made for this shit.

The nurse looked at her with… understanding and what looked like pride. It was understandable. Many New Yorkers would have just walked on by like they had heard nothing.

Santana might be a bitch but she had limits. She cared even when it seemed to be the exact opposite and she listened even when it seemed her mind was somewhere else. She couldn't just leave the woman to have her baby in that dirty alley and it's a lucky thing she didn't because the woman had a kid with her.

"Well, I suggest you just have a seat." The nurse said.

"What?! Why?" Santana asked incredulously. She wanted to go home. Now.

"I'm sorry Ms…?" The nurse looked at her.

"Lopez." She finished.

"Ms. Lopez I'm sorry but the child can't be left unattended." The nurse saw Santana's face drop and decided to add. "You did such a good today. What's one more?" and walked away.

Santana sighed heavily. She craned her head to look on there child who was clutching her jacket, just like her mother had done when she was having a contraction.

She was adorable. But she was dirty, Santana could see. Where in the hell did they come from? It was the first time she'd ever seen them and she walked that street everyday. Santana couldn't bother thinking about it right now. She was tired and her arms and feet felt like they were about to fall off.

She might as well take a seat because it had already turned out to be a long time and it didn't look to be ending soon.

* * *

_**A/N: This is my first Dantana story. Hope you guys like it!**_

_**Review and let me know if I should continue please! **_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: You guys are amazing! Thank you for your awesome reviews. I hope you stay with me on this journey! XoXo.**

* * *

Santana hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep until she felt someone gently shake her by the shoulders. She was about ready to snap up until she felt the weight in her arms. Then the night started rushing back to her.

It was all real.

The hand touched her shoulder again and she forced herself to open her eyes. It took a moment for her vision to clear but when it did, she realized that the person who was waking her was the same nurse from before. How long had she been sleeping? She used her free hand to rub at her eyes and began sitting up straight. She looked outside toward the window. It was just about dawn. The toddler in her lap was still asleep, head resting on Santana's chest. She turned her attention back to the nurse in front of her, looking up expectantly. When the nurse kept staring at her she rolled her eyes.

"Well?" She asked, a little irritated.

"She's okay. They both are." The nurse said, smiling. Santana let out a breath of relief and the headache that was building up seemed to pause and rethink for a moment. She didn't know why she had such a strong reaction. She barely knew the woman.

"So?" She asked, prompting the nurse to continue with the details.

"She had a healthy baby boy, 6 pounds 8 ounces. She's asleep now…" The nurse paused and the bright smile that was on her face a minute ago turned into a sad frown. It got Santana worried enough to ask.

"What? What is it?"

"She won't be able to keep him." The nurse said.

"Why?!" Santana shouted before she realized that a child was in her arms. "Why?" She tried again, softer this time.

"Well, she has nowhere to stay."

"How do you know that?" Santana demanded.

"We talked to her after she gave birth. We needed her to fill out the papers." The nurse explained. Damn. The woman was homeless and now she had two kids. "Social services was called in and-"

"You called social services?!" This time Santana couldn't hold back the shout.

"We have to. It's hospital policy. She's homeless; she doesn't have any relatives except her children. We can't just have her walking up and down the street with two kids under the age of 3." The nurse tried to get Santana to see reason.

"So what, they're taking them both?" Santana asked, taking her tone back to a softer decibel.

"They have to. They're young though so they'd probably be adopted before the end of the month." The nurse said trying to instill positivity. But all it did was make Santana angrier.

"You're splitting them up?!"

The girl in her lap started crying before the nurse had time to answer her.

"Shi-shoot." Santana corrected herself. She bounced the girl on her leg, shushing her and trying to get her to stop crying.

It wasn't doing shit.

She stood up, girl in her arms and began walking up and down, bouncing the toddler as she did.

"Mama."

Santana stopped. It was the first word the little girl had spoken since she'd found them. It was the first word any of the two strangers had said to her all night.

"It's okay baby. Your mama is alright." Santana tried to reassure the child.

It did nothing.

"Mama." The little girl cried again. Santana turned to the nurse.

"Where's her room?" she asked in a tone that if her coworkers were here, they would have told the nurse to just give up the answer and not ask questions.

But her coworkers weren't here.

"She's asleep and we can't just let you-"

"Give me the room number now or so help me!" Santana shouted above the noise of the still crying child in her arms.

"Room 208. Straight down the hallway, 2nd room on the left." The nurse gave in and Santana didn't bother to say thank you. She have ran half walked towards the room, the little girl's cries getting louder by the second. She finally reached the room and stopped.

"It's okay carino. We're gonna see your mama now." Santana tried again to calm the little girl. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door. It was a typical hospital room, the beeping of machines, the bed and the chairs at the side. The woman on the bed was asleep. She was wearing a typical hospital gown and her belly was gone. She was cleaner now, Santana realized. They must have cleaned her. Well her face at least.

She was beautiful. Santana just realized it now that the dirt was scrubbed off her face and she was in a better light. She was beautiful just like her daughter.

Her daughter. Right.

Santana realized the little girl was only whimpering now. Most likely because the sight of her mother was calming her down. She walked closer to the bed with the sleeping woman and the closer she got the more quiet the child in her arms became.

Santana was close enough to touch the other woman now.

She didn't. She set the child down on the edge of the bed and watched as she crawled up the bed and snuggled into her mother's side. It was adorable and Santana felt her heart swell. Not good.

"Mama." She heard the little girl say as she laid her head on the older blonde's chest.

It made the woman stir. Santana froze as she watched the woman's arm come around her daughter and tighten. Her eyes blinked a few times before they opened fully. Her face was filled with confusion at first until Santana saw realization begin to take its place. She snapped up, taking her daughter with her and her eyes immediately rested on Santana.

Santana felt obligated to take a step back. She didn't like how the woman was staring at her, like she was trying to scrutinize her soul.

"Hi." Santana said, trying to break the silence.

The woman didn't answer. Santana frowned. "Okay, I know you're not supposed to trust strangers or whatever but I helped you and I helped your kid. I stayed in this freaking hospital all night watching over her. I hate hospitals. The least you can do is answer me when I talk to you!" Santana shouted.

She would have kept shouting if it wasn't for the wobbling of the little girl's lips. She was scaring her. She sighed and walked away from the bed, ready to leave the room and leave this woman. She was ready to just pass this experience off as an eventful life and get back to her reality.

"Dani."

Santana stopped. She slowly turned back around to face the woman who had just spoken, shocked.

"Dani?" Her brain was still trying to register that this woman had spoken to her.

"My name's Dani. And thank you." The woman- Dani answered. Her voice was beautiful Santana thought. But then she stopped thinking it because attachment was not something she needed right now.

"Thank you?" Santana asked, still dumbfounded. She would have slapped herself and tried to get it together but Dani was looking at her. Intensely.

"Thank you for helping me." Dani explained.

"Oh. Right." Santana said. And then there was silence again. Santana was shifting from leg to leg and Dani was watching her every move, the little girl in her lap doing the same. Santana walked slowly to the chair that was situated beside the hospital bed and sat just as slowly in it.

"You don't have to." Dani whispered, finally breaking their intense eye contact to stare down at her daughter, lovingly stroking the little girl's hair. Santana didn't know how but she knew exactly what Dani was referring to.

"I want to." She replied. She's not sure why. The woman just basically gave her permission to leave and go back to whatever the hell she was doing before they had stumbled into her life.

But she couldn't.

Her answer made Dani's eyes lift back to hers and the intensity of her stare became twice what it was before.

"Mama." The little girl broke the silence, tugging on her mother's hospital gown and pointing to her tummy. "Mama." She kept at it.

Dani must have seen the confusion on Santana's face because she started to explain.

"She's hungry."

Oh.

Santana was quick to act.

"There's a cafeteria down the hall. I can take her. If you want me to I mean." Santana stuttered. She didn't stutter. Why was she stuttering?

"It's okay, I'll-" Dani tried to defer her help but Santana was not gonna sit there while the kid starved.

"I insist. Please." Santana Lopez never said please. What the hell was happening to her?

Dani looked at her for a while. Contemplating. She sighed after a while, a sigh that sounded like defeat. She looked down at the little girl who was still tugging her gown. "Hey." She said and the little girl stopped immediately. Dani pointed to Santana. "She'll get you some food chica." The girl looked at Santana, with those beady brown eyes that Santana was sure could stop wars all around the world, and then she looked back to her mother who nodded her head.

The little girl then turned to Santana and held her hands up. Santana stood from the chair and picked the little girl up from the hospital bed. Once the girl was in her arms, she turned to Dani. She had tears in her eyes that looked like they were going to come running over pretty soon.

"_Please_." It was a plead. A demand. To take her child back to her. To not hurt her.

Santana looked at her. Not with pity, but with sympathy. "Hey. I had her all night and she's fine isn't she?" She tried to reassure the woman. Dani nodded. "It'll only take a few minutes. I promise." Dani flinched. Santana wasn't sure why. But she ignored it and started walking toward the door. She glanced back at the blonde once more before she went through the door.

* * *

The cafeteria was close to empty. There were probably only five other people inside. Santana walked up to the vending machine, thanking any higher power that was out there that she had put her wallet in her jacket pocket and not left it in the car. She was going to but actual food from the cafeteria but decided against it. Hospital food was shit. Everyone knew that. She didn't want anyone keeling over from poison on her watch.

The little girl in her arms was silent. Santana wondered if it was because she didn't want to talk or if she really couldn't form proper English words yet. Well words except 'mama' which was the only word she had been saying since Santana had met her.

"Which one do you want?" She asked the toddler, pointing to the vending machine. The girl looked at Santana first before looking to the vending machine. She looked back at Santana again and Santana could see the excitement in her eyes. The little girl was getting excited over vending machine snacks.

God, what kind of life did she live before this? Santana didn't think she wanted to know.

"Go ahead. Pick one." She said. The girl looked back to the vending machine, seemingly trying to decide. She finally pointed to the bag of Lays. Kid had good taste. Santana put in the 100 dollar bill and picked the snack.

Four of them.

The kid looked like she needed more than one. She was about to press send but thought about it and decided to pick another snack, well sweet actually. Every kid deserves to have their sweet tooth tickled every once and again. Santana wondered if this girl had ever even tasted skittles. She pressed send and the snacks and sweets came tumbling out of the machine. Santana took them up, stuffing the sweet into her pocket before handing two of the Lays bags to the little girl. The excitement in her eyes doubled as she held the two snacks tightly to her chest as if Santana would snatch it away at any second. She went over to the other machine and got two Capri Suns. It was the only kid friend juice in the thing. She set the little girl down unto the floor. She would need her hands.

"Hold on to me okay?" She asked the little girl. She didn't nod but she followed the order. Santana took up the two juice pouches and they walked back to Room 208.

* * *

When Santana came through the door of the room, Dani looked like she was just about ready to jump off the bed and throw herself at her daughter. It was obvious that even though Santana had promised, she was still worried. She wondered if the nurse had told her about social services.

"Mama!" The little girl shouted, excited. She walked over to her mother's bed side and as soon as she was close enough, Dani stretched over to the side and swooped her up into her arms, snacks and all. She hugged the little girl close to her and inhaled, as if inhaling the girl's scent.

"I missed you, Izzy." She whispered but Santana heard her. Izzy. That was the child's name. Or maybe it was a shortening for her full name? Santana didn't have any time to contemplate. Dani was talking to her.

"Thank you." And this time she said it with extreme gratitude. Her eyes were swimming with grateful tears.

"I promised didn't I?" Santana said. She walked over to the bed and sat back in the chair she had occupied before.

They both turned to the little girl who was sizing up the Lays bag, probably contemplating how to open it.

"Do you want me to open that for you?" Santana offered up. The little girl- Izzy looked up at her and after a moment of hesitation offered the bag of chips to Santana.

Santana emptied her hand of its contents. She took the bag from Izzy and opened it with ease, handing it back to her when she did. The girl took it and looked down into the bag for a moment before putting her hand inside and taking one out. Just when Santana though she was going to eat it, she offered it up to her mother. The woman shook her head but Izzy was insisting.

"Mama." She said in a tone that if it were an adult, would have meant business. Dani looked torn. She must have been hungry. If the kid was hungry she was too no doubt but she didn't want to take away any of her daughter's food.

So Santana stepped in. "Its okay Izzy, your mama has her own, see?" She said, taking up the Lays bag from the bed and handing it over to Dani. Just like her daughter, she hesitated to take it but after Santana shoved it at her gently, she took it and held it in her hand.

"Own?" Izzy said as she stared up at her mother. It was the first word she had said other than calling for her mother.

"Yeah baby girl. I have my own." Dani said. Santana realized she said it like she wasn't use to it. Like she wasn't used to owning things.

Santana watched as Izzy stuffed chip after chip into her mouth. She was definitely deprived. She wondered if she had just gotten the kid addicted to junk food.

Dani looked at Santana. Where in the hell did this woman come from and why was she so willing to help?

Santana caught her stare and matched it.

"Do you…?" Dani cut off her question. She shouldn't even be talking to this stranger.

"Do I what?" Santana asked eager to hear the question.

Dani sighed and looked up at her. "Do you… do you know where they took my baby?"

Santana froze. It was the first time the big elephant in the room had been brought up. She was wondering when the woman would ask. Maybe she had wanted to but had been afraid of the answer.

Before Santana could answer though, before she could even _think_ about it, someone knocked on the door. A nurse stepped into the room and right after her was a woman in a suit. Her hair was in a ponytail and her face was just about as pleasant as a shark about to eat a human alive.

"Hi." It was the nurse who spoke first.

"What's going on?" Santana didn't bother with greetings and pleasantries.

"Social Services are here." And the nurse actually seemed apologetic.

That sentence had Santana out of her seat in seconds. Dani's arms tighten around her daughter and Santana found herself shielding them from the view of the two other occupants of the room.

"They don't need to be here." Santana said, angry at this new development.

"We talked about this Ms. Lopez. We can't have her walking the streets with two young kids."

_Think Santana!_ She tried to push herself. She was not gonna let this woman lose her children.

"Well, she won't be roaming the streets." Santana said. She wasn't even thinking now. Words were just coming out of her mouth.

"What are you saying Ms. Lopez?" It was the social worker that spoke up now. Face confused and annoyed all in one.

"I'm saying she isn't homeless." Santana replied. She wasn't?

"And where does she live, Ms. Lopez?" The social worker had taken a step closer to them and Santana had taken a step to match it.

"She lives with me."

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**A/N: hope you guys enjoyed!  
**

**please review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Have I told you guys how AMAZING you are? Like seriously I love you all! Thank you so much for your amazing response. I hope you enjoy the chapter! XoXo.**

* * *

Everyone in the room was frozen, each person looking at Santana with different emotions plastered on their faces. Dani was looking at her like she had grown another head. The nurse was looking at her with… glee. Izzy was looking at her and everyone in the rest of the room, confused. She had stopped eating the chips and was paying attention to the other four occupants of the room.

And the social worker, she was looking at her with an annoyed and angry girl. What's new?

If she could see herself, she was pretty sure her facial expression would be just like Dani's. What the hell was she thinking? She just offered up her home to some homeless woman and her kids.

But she wasn't going to take it back. She wouldn't let this woman lose her kids. Not if she could do anything about it.

"I'm sorry Ms. Lopez?" The social worker was the one to break the silence. All eyes turned to her and then back to Santana, waiting for a response.

"They're staying with me." Santana said once again, to clarify. Dani was looking at her now with an unreadable expression. But though her poker face was stellar, her mind was going a mile an hour.

This woman, Ms. Lopez (what was her first name?), she didn't know them. She wasn't supposed to care about them. She was just supposed to walk away last night and leave Dani there to deal with her painful labor by herself.

But she didn't. She stopped and she helped and now, this.

Why?

Santana knew why she was doing it. She didn't want these kids to go through the foster system. The nurse was optimistic about them being adopted but Santana knew the reality of it. If a family didn't want you, there was nothing you could do about it. If they took you and had their own child and then suddenly wanted to take you back, you could do nothing at all. It was just the reality of one of the worst government systems out there. And she was not going to let these kids, who were under the age of 3, go through that.

It had nothing to do with the physical and emotional attraction she felt to their mother.

Nope.

Because she didn't feel any physical or emotion attraction to Dani.

If she kept on repeating it in her head, she knew it would eventually become a reality.

So far, it wasn't working…

"And when did this new development occur?" The social worker asked again. It occurred to Santana that the woman had yet to give her name.

How rude.

"What can I say, I'm a spontaneous person." Santana said as she crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at woman.

"The government doesn't do spontaneous." The social worker glared right back at her.

"It's a wonder you're so…laborious." Santana shot back.

Before the social worker could answer, the nurse cut in.

"Okay, enough of that. Ms. Lopez, are you saying that Dani will be living with you and that she can use your address when asked to state her residence?" The nurse asked, pen at the ready to write down the answer.

The social worker interrupted before anyone could move an inch.

"Wait a minute. She can't just up and say she's providing her with residence. That's not how it goes." The social worker said with a smug look on her face, like she had just won a battle.

"Actually Ms. Morello, there's nothing that says she can't do that." The nurse interjected and the smug grin was wiped off the woman's face and her glare returned and was aimed straight at the bubbly nurse.

"It's _Mrs. _Morello. And there must be a policy that says-"

"There isn't. The policy just says that she has to have a place of residence. And Ms. Lopez is offering to let them stay with her so there's nothing we can do." The nurse said, smiling all the while she did. Santana was obviously not the only one who despised the social worker.

"Yes, Ms. Morello, there really is no reason for you to be here." Santana said. Making sure to stress the Ms. in her name. It did its job and the irritation and frustration in the woman's face doubled.

"This is not the last you'll see of me Ms. Lopez." She said, turning back around to the door, and walking through it, slamming it for good measure.

Santana just rolled her eyes. "Bitch." She muttered under her breath, careful to remember a child was in the room.

"Well, I still need you to fill out this form." The nurse interrupted.

"Okay." Santana held out her hand for the form. "When are they gonna get discharged?" she asked.

"As soon as you fill out the forms and sign the discharge papers." The nurse answered. Santana nodded and the nurse smiled and turned to head through the door.

But Dani's voice stopped her. "When will I see my baby?"

It was the first time she had spoken since Santana's outburst. Santana didn't know if it was because she was shocked or if it was a whole other reason. Dani was hard to read. She had a great poker face and Santana knew it was going to start annoying her.

"I'll bring him to you in a few." The nurse answered, smiling before she finally left the room.

Santana turned back towards the bed and watched as Izzy resumed eating her potato chips and cuddled into her mother.

Dani was staring at her with that intensity again that Santana hated. Why did she keep doing that?

"Why?" Santana was shocked and confused at the same time. She truly never expected Dani to say a word to her.

"Why what?" Santana asked, genuinely confused.

"Why are you doing this?" Dani clarified.

Santana knew the question was coming but she never prepared an answer. She knew why she was doing this right? For the kids.

"I know what the foster system is like. I don't want anyone to experience that." Santana said as simply as she could.

Dani never answered her. She just stared.

Santana cleared her throat and focused her attention on the papers in her hand.

"You have to fill out this form." Santana said, changing the subject. She handed the paper and the pen the nurse had provided over to Dani.

The woman didn't take it.

Santana waited for an explanation.

"I can't." Was all Dani gave up. Santana fought the urge to roll her eyes. This woman was going to be the death of her.

"You can't what?" Santana asked in an exaggerated manner.

Dani paused for a moment before she sighed.

"I'll talk and you'll write?" she answered, not answering Santana's question. Santana just shook her head and sat back in the chair that she was previously in. She really didn't have time to unlock the secret that was this woman. It would take her a shorter time to solve an intricate math puzzle.

"Okay, sure." Santana said while reading over the form. "So, what's your full name?" Santana asked, preparing to write.

"Izzy!" Santana almost jumped. The little girl had been quiet for a while until Santana had almost forgotten she was there.

But Santana smiled after she got over her shock. This was probably the most adorable thing she had ever seen. Not that she would ever say that out loud of course.

Dani smile at her daughter before turning back to Santana. Her smile fell a little and it prompted Santana's to do the same.

"Danielle Santiago." Dani whispered just loud enough for Santana to hair.

Danielle. It was such a simple name, but it fit the woman in front of her perfectly. It was beautiful and tailor made just for her. But again, Santana would never say that out loud. She shouldn't even be saying it in her head. She cleared her mind and wrote the name on the paper.

"Mother and Father's name." Santana continued. Dani stiffened at that. Santana looked up to see what was delaying. Her heart almost broke at the sight she was greeted with.

Dani's shoulders were rigid but that wasn't what gained Santana's attention.

The woman was crying. Her poker face was still present, but there were tears streaming down her face. Santana almost leaped off the chair and gathered the woman in her arms.

But she didn't.

"Okay, I won't ask. I'm sorry if… I'm sorry." Santana was tongue tied. She was not good with comfort. Dani nodded and dried her tears. Luckily, Izzy was too focused on her potato chips to realize her mother's distress.

Santana looked back down unto the paper and filled out her section of the paper and filled out Dani's section as best as she could.

Until she hit another road block.

"Dani, what's Izzy's full name?" Santana asked.

Dani didn't hesitate to answer this one.

"Isabella Santiago."

"What about your baby boy?"

"Mama." Izzy, ever the icebreaker, interrupted before Dani could answer. She was holding up her hands to Dani. They were full of salt remains from the chips she was eating. Both Dani and Santana smiled, though as soon as Santana realized she was smiling, she stopped. Attachment wouldn't do.

"Here you go chica." Santana said as she handed a paper towel from a roll she had found on the hospital room table. Izzy looked at the paper towel in Santana's hand for a moment before taking it and then holding it up to her mother.

"Say thank you, baby." Dani prompted the little girl before she took the paper towel and started wiping off the toddler's hands.

Izzy looked at Santana for a moment before complying.

"Gwacias." She answered before turning and cuddling back into her mother.

Santana fought the strong urge she had to coo at the child. She did not coo, she did not awe. She was not that kind of person. She would sooner bitch slap you than give you a compliment. She wasn't the type to be warm and kind and caring. It just wasn't her.

Taking random people off the street and putting them in her home wasn't her either but here she was, doing exactly that.

She didn't have too much time to think about it because there was a knock on the door and the nurse from before came strolling in, a bundle wrapped expertly in a blanket, in her arms.

Dani's attention skyrocketed when she saw the nurse enter the room.

"Is that…" she never finished the question but there was no need, the nurse knew what she was asking.

"It's him." She clarified, walking over to the hospital bed with that ever present smile on her face.

Izzy was still cuddled up against her mother, eying the nurse and the bundle in her arms.

Dani looked up at Santana, apparently asking for her help. Santana thought quickly.

"Izzy, why don't we go wash your hands? They must be dirty yeah?" Santana improvised.

Izzy looked up at her mother, still clinging on tightly.

"It's okay Izzy. It'll only take a few minutes." Dani tried to reassure her daughter.

Santana was just happy that Dani already trusted her so much with her daughter. That was one less hurdle she would have to cross in this entire situation.

"Pwomise?" Izzy asked, her bottom lip jutting out to form the cutest puppy face that Santana had ever seen. Not that she had seen many…

"I promise chica." Dani said while stroking her daughter's blonde hair. Izzy hesitated a second before stretching her arms up to Santana like she had did the first time and Santana didn't hesitate to lift her from the bed. As soon as Izzy was in her arms, the nurse handed over the baby boy to his mother and Santana watched as adoration shone on Dani's face.

She was a good mother. A great one. Santana knew that if she had had someone as dedicated to her and as loving as Dani was, she would have turned out different. But life isn't always a bed of roses and hers? Hers was a pile of rusty, old, sharp nails that kept stabbing her in the back every time she tried to get comfortable.

Dani wanted to be there for her kids and she wanted to be able to provide for them too but she didn't have the means.

But Santana would help her. At least until she can support herself because maybe if someone had done that for her, she would have been a better person. She doesn't want these kids growing up like she did.

And that she realized, was the reason she was helping out these homeless strangers.

_Not_ because of her of her attraction to Dani. Not because of that intense stare that she supposedly hates that cause butterflies in her stomach.

Santana Lopez doesn't do butterflies.

Right?

* * *

**A/N: So you guys must have realized by now that the characters are nothing like they are in the tv show. This is an extreme AU. The only thing this story's Santana probably has in common with the Santana we all know and love is her attitude. Everything else is original. Don't worry we'll find out about their backgrounds soon and we'll also soon meet Rachel and Kurt and maybe even some others. Who knows? ;)**

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yes I know, it's been a while. I'm sorry. Won't happen again, I promise. Enjoy!**

* * *

Santana was standing outside Dani's hospital room with Izzy in her arms. The little girl was drinking one of the Capri Suns Santana had bought earlier. Going to the bathroom had only taken a few minutes and Santana wanted to give Dani more time with her new son which was why she had slipped into the room and got the juice and came right back out.

Izzy was cooperating even though she had yet to say anything to Santana since they've been outside. It was understandable. Santana was technically a stranger to both the little girl and her mother and she was sure Dani had taught her the importance of not talking to strangers

Santana watched as Izzy slurped every last drop of juice out of the pouch, making sure to not waste any. Santana suspected the little girl knew the value of the juice in her hand even though she was so young. She wondered if her life had been that bad.

Well Santana vowed that she was going to make sure she never knew what it was like to be starved ever again.

"Mama." Izzy broke her train of thought. She turned her eyes to the little girl to see her looking towards the room her mother was in.

She was ready to go back inside.

"Okay chica. We're going in now." The girl didn't nod or acknowledge her statement. She just handed her the empty juice pouch. Santana smiled despite herself and took the pouch from the toddler, throwing it into the nearest trash can. She then turned back to the room and entered quietly. Dani was still smiling at the baby in her arms. It seems she hadn't even realized that Santana had come back into the room.

"Mama." Izzy decided to get her mother's attention. Dani looked up swiftly and Santana was surprised she didn't get whiplash. Dani's eyes traveled from Santana first then to her daughter, her smile brightened when her eyes landed on the latter.

"Hey." Santana said while walking toward the bed with the little girl whose arms were stretching towards her mother. Santana set her down on the bed and watched as she crawled up to her mother like before.

However, Izzy didn't cuddle up to Dani. She was too busy staring at the bundle in the blanket her mother was holding.

"Say hello to your new brother Izzy." Dani was smiling as she looked from one child to another. It was the first time Santana had seen her smile so brightly and she loved it.

Dani had perfect teeth which was definitely not what Santana had expected from someone living on the street. She also had a perfect smile, one of the loveliest Santana had ever seen. She would make sure she'd be able to see it more often.

"Baby." Izzy spoke up, pointing at the little baby's pink face. Before Santana even had time to swoon at the little girl, her phone rang. She jumped at the sound. She had forgotten it was there.

She wasn't the only one who jumped, Dani and Izzy did too and they both looked like they'd seen a ghost. Santana apologized and excused herself, going outside to take the call.

She hadn't even bothered to look at the caller id but when she heard the voice on the other side, she didn't need to.

"Hello?"

"Santana where the hell are you?!"

It was Rachel Berry.

Fuck.

She was late for work.

"Berry why didn't you call me sooner?!" Santana said, angry at the brunette on the other end of the line.

"I came by your apartment this morning. We were suppose to carpool remember? You weren't there and I had to leave. Please don't tell me you had a one night stand sleepover." Rachel said, knowing very well that her friend and coworker was exactly that type of person but Santana was never careless enough to sleep over before.

"Of course not Rachel! I… had an emergency. Tell Sylvester I can't come in today." Santana said, a little frustrated. Her boss was not one for tardiness and she was definitely not one for absence.

"What kind of emergency? This better be good Santana." Rachel said in a sturdy tone. The little brunette was a pixie but she was serious and stern when she needed to be. It's what had gotten her so far in her career.

"I… It's a long story Rachel and I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment. Just tell Sylvester what I said and we'll talk later okay?" Santana didn't wait for a reply, she ended the call and shut her phone off.

She had no idea why she was doing this. She could loose her job and all for some homeless woman and her kids.

But Santana didn't care. Not right now at least. She took a deep breath and stepped back into the hospital room. She made her way back to the chair that was becoming more and more uncomfortable.

"Sorry about that." Santana said and Dani, as usual, just stared at her. Santana stared back, until it became too tense for her. She looked away. "Are you ever gonna just have a normal conversation with me without all that intense staring?" Santana couldn't help but ask. Dani stared at her a few moments longer.

"We're strangers." Was all Dani said.

"Strangers have good conversations all the time." Santana retorted.

Dani raised an eyebrow at her and Santana had to admit, it was endearing.

There was a knock on the door and the nurse from earlier entered with papers Santana assumed were the discharge papers in her hand.

"I have the discharge papers right here." The nurse announced, giving the papers a little wave before handing them over to Santana who took the offered pen from the nurse and signed them. "Oh! I almost forgot. Dani, we need your baby's name."

Santana had almost forgotten about the sleeping bundle in Dani's arms. She had asked her earlier if she had a name for him but she didn't get an answer. They were interrupted before one could leave the blonde's mouth.

"Mathew Santiago." Dani said again without hesitation, just like she had for Izzy, smiling down at the baby. She had had 8 months to think about it after all.

"Okay. So that's it for you. I'll send the doctor around to talk to you then you'll be free to go." The nurse said.

"Thank you." Santana said and it definitely sounded weird coming from her lips. She never said things like please and thank you. It just wasn't her.

Until now apparently.

The nurse exit the room and Dani went back to staring at her.

"Would you stop doing that?" Santana asked.

"Doing what?" Dani asked, genuinely confused.

"Staring at me like I'm an alien." Santana confirmed. But it didn't seem to help because Dani didn't stop staring.

"I'm sorry." Dani said. Santana sighed.

"Don't. You don't need to apologize." She said to reassure the woman. Santana wasn't sure why but she wanted to be nice to these people. Whether it was because she could identify with them or someone else had invaded her body and had taken over her brain, she didn't know but she didn't thing she minded.

Not one bit.

* * *

They were in her car now. The doctor had come and talked to them about the baby and the things they'd need to know in order to take good care of him. As if he didn't see that there was a perfectly healthy little girl wrapped around Dani who was testament to the fact that she didn't need his dumb instructions. She had cut him off short and asked the nurse for a wheelchair and she helped Dani in and wheeled them all out of the hell hole.

They were in her car. Silent.

She loved silence. But she hated this one. This was the silence that caused her to think and Santana Lopez hated thinking about anything except how to do her job to the best of her ability.

She hated thinking about her life and now she had to think about three other people's life.

"You don't have to do this." Dani broke the silence and her train of thoughts that was caused by it.

It was the same thing she had said back at the hospital. Santana knew it was because she didn't want her to think she was obligated to help them. But she knew that. It was something she wanted to do.

"I already told you, I want to." Santana said, looking in the rearview mirror for the first time since she started driving. Izzy was curled up into her side. She was asleep and the little bundle of newborn baby was securely wrapped in her arms.

That wouldn't do. She'd have to get a car seat.

Was she getting attached? Of course not. She just wasn't in the mood to get a ticket.

And clothes. They all needed clothes. If she was gonna be seen with them, she was gonna dress them right.

They were here. They were at her house and she just realized that she didn't think about this at all.

Maybe she really shouldn't have done this. She had no idea how to take care of a homeless person and her kids. She's lived alone for as long as she remembered. She was use to people coming in and out of her house. She held parties almost every weekend. What she wasn't use to was people staying over.

Parties.

That would have to stop for now wouldn't it?

Damn it.

* * *

"And this is where you'll be staying." Santana opened the door to one of her many guest bedrooms that were never used. She was pretty sure only two people have ever stayed over her house and it was because they forced her into letting them stay.

"I…" Dani didn't know what to say. She wasn't use to kindness and she worse wasn't use to strangers being kind. This was something alien and new to her. She didn't know how to feel about it. Should she be grateful or was she running into a trap set for a vulnerable, homeless mother of two? She looked up at Santana. She didn't know this woman, they had just met. But the kindness she had shown to Dani was blowing her mind. If her own family couldn't even look at her without a scowl, why on earth did she think this complete stranger could be different?

"You don't have to say anything." Santana saw the conflict in the brunette's eyes but she also saw the wariness. The woman must be tired. It had been a long night. And now, a long morning. She was holding two sleeping children and she looked like she was about to collapse.

"But I-"

"Put them down on the bed." Santana cut her off.

Dani just stared at her. Santana rolled her eyes.

"I promise you, nothing will happen to them. Put them on the bed. They're tired and you're tired and there's a better chance of you dropping them than of them falling off that bed." Santana tried to reason and seems to have worked because Dani place the two children on the bed. Santana took most of the throw pillows and made a sort of barrier around them, to qualm both their worries.

"The bathroom's this way." Santana said leading the way, expecting Dani to follow her. "You, well you don't have any clothes so for now you can borrow some of mine." Santana finally turned to face the blonde.

"I don't-" Dani started to protest again.

"Unless you're planning to walk around naked, I suggest you borrow my clothes."

Dani raised an eyebrow and Santana could see the blush tainting her cheeks.

Did she just say that? She felt just about ready to face palm herself.

"Ok." Dani said, dropping the conversation. Santana sighed in relief. She couldn't have the woman thinking she was a pervert.

"Ok… I'm gonna go for some clothes for you… shit."

"What?" Dani asked. She looked just about ready to panic.

"Hey, calm down. I just realized that I don't just have kid clothes lying around my house." Santana said. She could go shopping right now. Yeah, she could do that. It'd only take a few minutes.

She could leave them here. In her house. Alone.

"That's okay, I can-"

"I'm going shopping. I'll be back in 20 minutes." She was already looking for her car keys. So distracted she was that she didn't realize Dani's wide eyes full of fear.

"But you can't-"

"You'll be fine, I promise." Santana said, stopping after she found the keys to look at Dani.

"Are you really going to leave me in your house alone?" Dani asked. And Santana had asked herself the same question. She had no idea what kind of person this woman was. They had just met, she knew nothing about whether or not the woman had good character but she was gonna leave her in her house for 20 minutes. The perfect amount of time to steal all her valuables and hit the road.

But she just had a feeling Dani wouldn't.

"I trust you." Santana herself was shocked by the words that just came from her mouth. It was probably the first time those words ever left her mouth. And to a homeless woman who she knew nothing about no less. She would have laughed if she didn't think it inappropriate for this conversation. "I don't know why, but I do."

Dani herself was surprised that this stranger was giving her this big responsibility, giving her her trust. She just nodded her head because she was at a lost for words.

"Okay. 20 minutes okay?" Santana said again.

"Okay." Dani nodded along.

"Okay." But Santana didn't move. She was the one staring now. She knew Dani was a beautiful woman but she hadn't gotten the chance to actually study her until now and…wow.

"Ah…" Dani broke the trance. Santana almost slapped herself.

"Now you know what it feels like." Santana whispered before she turned around and walked through the door. Dani was left staring at it.

But only for a few moments because Santana came running back in.

"How old is Izzy?" she asked. It would help her with this clothes hunt she was going on.

Dani was confused but she answered anyway. "Two."

"Okay. 20 minutes!" She shouted as she closed the door again.

Dani stared for a few moments before she smiled.

* * *

**A/N: Okay so a lot of people thought Izzy was three and someone even commented that it doesn't make sense that she's three and talks so badly. That would be a good point... IF she was actually three. She isn't. I never said she was. I always said that Dani has two kids UNDER the age of three. I told you Izzy's age in this chapter. It might still not explain her limited speech but when you learn Dani's story, you'll understand lots I promise.  
**

**Thank you guys so much for reading!**

**Please review :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you guys again so much for supporting this story. You have no idea how much I squeal when I see a knew review, favorite or follow! Thank You!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

She had gone overboard.

Way overboard.

So overboard that she had to ask two of WalMart's employees to help her put everything in her car.

So overboard that she had to ask her neighbor's delinquent, high school drop out, criminal convict son for help taking the things into her house.

Way overboard.

She wasn't thinking when she went shopping. She didn't know what they liked or what they disliked so she bought… everything.

She was pretty sure her purchase was the equivalent of 20 other shoppers on Christmas.

Maybe not that much but she knew she had gone… overboard.

She quickly thanked the guy and even more quickly, got him out of her house. The bags surrounding her feet hindered her from walking and so she had to literally jump out of the circle of shopping bags.

This was one of the consequences of having money to kill and a trust fund bigger than all fifty two states of America, she thought.

She sighed and went into the living room, haphazardly throwing her bag on one of the chairs.

She almost jumped ten feet into the air when she felt someone tugging at her clothes. She turned around to see Izzy staring up at her, head titled to the side in the most adorable way Santana had ever seen in her entire life.

"Hey there." Santana smiled down at the girl who was still looking up at her. Santana was pretty sure she got that staring thing from her mother.

Izzy didn't answer. But she held her hands up to the latina. She wanted her to pick her up and Santana didn't hesitate.

"How did you get off the bed chica?" Santana didn't expect the little girl to answer but she was curious.

Santana walked with Izzy in her arms toward the room on the ground floor. She didn't take them upstairs. She wasn't sure Dani could handle stairs yet and she didn't want to limit Izzy's walking.

She reached the room and realized the door was ajar. She knocked, not wanting to enter without permission, regardless of the fact that it was her house.

There was no answer though.

"Dani?' She didn't know why but she was panicking. Santana Lopez didn't panic but she realized now that that statement was becoming irrelevant, Santana Lopez didn't know what she did and didn't do anymore.

She slowly opened the door fully and entered the room. She almost breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Dani was okay. Everybody was okay.

Dani was lying down on the queen sized bed; face resting delicately on one of her hands and her other hand was on the back of the newborn baby. She was sleeping. They both were.

She must have fallen asleep unintentionally because Santana was sure she wouldn't have left the door open otherwise.

Dani was beautiful awake and asleep, Santana realized. Her mouth was parted slightly and her brow was scrunched up. She must have been dreaming. She found herself moving closer to the bed and when she was at the head of it, she found herself having an internal war over whether or not she should tuck that stray strand of blonde hair behind the sleeping woman's ear.

"Mama." Luckily, Izzy knocked some sense into her with her interruption. What the hell had she been thinking? She shook her head to get a little bit of clarity.

"Mama." Izzy said again and this time, Dani was up and looking around frantically. She jumped when her eyes landed on Santana who was holding her child. Her hand moved up to her chest and clenched into a fist. She closed her eyes and looked like she was breathing out a sigh of relief. To Santana she looked like she was about to cry. She must have been having a nightmare.

"Hey." Santana said, trying to get Dani to focus on her and off the apparent nightmare she just had.

"Hi." Dani said, still looking a bit shaken up.

"I found this one in the living room. She almost scared the shi- hell outta me." Santana said. Dani smiled at her.

Wait.

Dani smiled at her.

Not stare intensely, not tilt her head or raise her eyebrow.

Smile.

Santana was pretty sure a thousand butterflies just erupted in her stomach. She'd seen Dani smile before. But never at her and she had to say, it was breathtaking. But that was all she'd allow herself to think.

That's all.

"I'm sorry." Dani said.

"You really need to stop apologizing." Santana replied, smiling back at the woman.

"Mama." Izzy interrupted their conversation. She had her arms outstretched to her mother and Dani didn't hesitate to take her from Santana.

"Hey, I thought you were asleep." Dani talked to her daughter.

"Nah." Izzy answered.

"You weren't. Are you sure?" Dani asked, her smile brightening.

"Si." Izzy answered back as she nodded her head for more confirmation.

Santana was just looking on at the adorable interaction in front of her. She couldn't help but smile along with the two of them. She snapped herself out of it after a few moments though.

Don't get attached Santana, she reminded herself.

"Mama?" Again, Izzy was the one to snap her back to reality. The little girl was pointing at her but looking at her mother with a questioning look on her face.

"What did I do?" Santana asked.

"Nothing." Dani quickly assured her. "She wants to know your name."

Oh.

She hadn't told either of them her name, she realized. Well, who could blame her? She was so caught up in all this sudden soap opera- like drama that her life was slowly becoming, she hadn't even realized that she had lost her manners.

"I'm sorry. It's Santana." She answered, looking at Dani when she said it.

Dani was staring at her again. She hated it. She almost rolled her eyes but she controlled her urge.

"Santana." Dani repeated and Santana knew in that moment that she wanted to hear her name come out of Dani's mouth again. She didn't know if the blonde was doing it on purpose, she didn't think she was. But whether or not she meant to, Santana had succumbed.

"Tana!" Izzy exclaimed and Santana blinked a few times before she looked over to the little girl who had her arms up in the air and a wide smile on her face. She was just as beautiful as her mother when she smiled.

When people mispronounced her name, even by a half syllable, Santana had the habit of getting irritated. If it was an adult, she'd get violent. She was a nuclear bomb out of control.

But right now she was as dangerous as a lazy hamster that had just been fed.

She laughed. It was definitely not the reaction she had expected but she didn't know what to expect anymore so she went with it.

And Dani joined her. Santana knew Dani's smile was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

Now she knew what the most beautiful sound she'd ever heard was and the woman before her was making it.

She had to stop for a moment to gaze at her.

Her cell phone rang and interrupted her thoughts. She excused herself and exited the room to answer the call. This time she read the caller ID to see who it was and rolled her eyes and scowled when she saw who was calling her. She answered the call anyway.

"What do you want Lady Hummel?"

"It's nice to hear from you too Satan." Kurt snapped back. "Where the hell are you? You know Sylvester hates absence."

"It's none of your business Kurt. I already told Rachel to cover for me. Why are you calling?" Santana asked, irritated.

"I'm outside your door. Come open it."

Santana almost dropped the cell phone.

"What?! What the hell are you doing at my house?!" Santana shouted, forgetting that she had company right in the room behind her.

"Well, Rachel said I should check up on you and-"

"I don't need a fucking babysitter Hummel!" Santana exclaimed and when she heard the gasp behind the door, she cursed herself. "Damn it." She whispered to herself.

"Too bad Lopez because I'm already here."

Santana was already walking over to the door. "Well, you can stay outside and rot because I'm not letting you in." Santana told him.

"Well, it's a lucky thing I know where your spear key is." Kurt said before hanging up and before Santana could even think to bar the door, Kurt Hummel was in her house, surrounded by all the shopping bags she had brought home only a few minutes ago.

"What the hell, Santana." Kurt said, looking around at the bags surrounding him.

"Get out of my house." Santana said, sending a glare that would send anyone else running to the hills with wet pants.

But not Kurt. He had worked with her for too long to be afraid of her. She knew he wouldn't be affected but she kept up the attitude anyway.

"Your big bad wolf attitude doesn't work on me Santana Lopez. What the hell have you been up to?" Kurt asked. He knew Santana and she wasn't one to go on shopping sprees. The most money she's ever spent since he met her was on this house. Since when did she become a premium member of WalMart?

"Go away Kurt!" Santana said. She was whispering now. She didn't want Dani or Izzy to be seen by Kurt. She wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Tana?"

Too late.

Both Kurt and Santana turned around to look at the little girl looking up at Santana and then at the blonde woman who came running after her, scooping up the little girl in her arms.

"Care to explain Santana?" Kurt asked, turning his eyes to his brunette friend.

But Santana wasn't aware of Kurt anymore. She was looking at the blonde and the little girl in her arms. She walked over to them and stopped only a few inches away.

Dani wasn't staring at her. She was staring at Kurt.

And she looked terrified. She was holding on to Izzy tightly and her lips were beginning to tremble.

She was afraid of Kurt.

"Get out Kurt." Santana said, not looking at him.

"Santana I just told you I'm not-"

"Get out Kurt or so help me!" Santana shouted, spinning around to face him and Kurt could see how serious she was so he didn't hesitate. He backed up and exited the house.

Santana turned back to Dani and without thinking, she wrapped her arms around the woman and drew her close. Izzy was caught in the middle but the little girl didn't seem to mind.

Dani didn't respond at first.

"I'm sorry." Santana whispered and she was. She was sorry that she had been the cause of that terrified look on the blonde's face even if it wasn't really her fault. She would deal with Kurt Hummel later.

Right now her only priority was in her arms.

Dani had started crying. It started with a sob and then it developed into outright bawling but Santana said nothing. She just hugged them both tighter and whispered 'I'm sorry' until her throat hurt.

* * *

Dani had calmed down.

It took her almost ten minutes but she had stopped crying. They had been standing in the same spot, unmoving, for almost ten minutes.

But Santana hadn't even realized. When did she become this person who immediately comforted someone who was upset instead of telling them to get it together because life was shit and they had to deal with it?

She didn't know when, but somewhere in between the ten minutes, she had started stroking Dani's blonde hair. Izzy had wiggled her way out between them and used Santana's body to make her way to the floor. If the situation she was in wasn't so grave, she would have laughed at the little girl's agility.

The little girl had gone straight to the pile of bags in front of the door. She had yet to touch them though. She just sat there staring at them, sometimes turning her head in Santana's direction.

Dani had been the one to break the hug. She had gripped Santana's jacket some time through her crying and now she let go of it like it burned. Santana took a few steps backward, being careful of Izzy behind her. Dani only glanced at her once before she turned and ran back into the room that Santana had named hers. She shut the door behind her.

Santana sighed. She didn't run after her. She herself needed to figure out what the hell had just happened.

"Tana." She wouldn't get a chance to it seemed. Izzy was looking up at her and pointing to the bags on the floor.

She wanted to know what was inside.

Santana smiled at the little girl and came to sit right beside her. She would have never found herself sitting on the floor in any other circumstance. But Izzy was different.

So was her mother.

"Let's see what's inside shall we?" Santana said, the little girl still watching her curiously.

Santana grabbed the nearest bag and peaked inside. It was toys.

Yes, she had bought toys.

She was getting attached.

She just knew it.

But right at that moment, sitting next to the little two year old who mispronounced her name,

She couldn't bring herself to care.

* * *

**A/N: So I just gave a sort of clue to Dani's background. Maybe you figured it out, maybe you didn't either way, you're still awesome. :)  
**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Guys stop being so awesome! No don't stop but seriously, you're amazing!**

* * *

It had been an hour. She was still sitting in the room, cradling the baby in her arms and staring at a spot on the wall. She had been thinking. She was still thinking and she had come to the conclusion that she needed to go out there.

Her daughter was out there with some stranger she had barely met a few hours ago.

A stranger that saved her and her babies' lives and gave them a place to stay.

A stranger that she trusted.

But a stranger none the less.

It's why she had run away. She was getting too comfortable in her strong, yet soft embrace. She was getting too attached. She was setting herself up for heartache and pain. Just like she always did.

Not this time.

She would find a job, somewhere, somehow and she would build a life for herself and leave this stranger to her life. Her very fortunate life.

She didn't mean to cry. But then again, when did she ever mean to cry. She had been terrified even though deep down she knew there was nothing to fear. But her brain was not responding to logic. It saw and it acted. It brought up terrible memories of what she had gone through and _who_ had put her through it.

Sometimes she had to remember what good she got from her terrible life to keep herself sane. She got her daughter. And no matter how much she knew she would be better off if her life had been different, she wouldn't change it for that one reason. She got Isabella and she would do it all over again just for her little girl.

And her son. Got knows how much time she contemplated…terminating her pregnancy. But the moment she saw his face, the moment the nurse handed him to her and she felt his softness and had him latch on to her pinky, she knew that she had made the right decision.

But this stranger, she had no idea what to make of her. Santana. The name was beautiful and the woman even more so but Dani wasn't use to generosity, especially not from strangers. She always thought there was an ulterior motive. Simply because in her past experiences, there always _was_ one.

She couldn't face the woman outside, not after she had basically clutched to her for all of ten minutes, wiping her hot tears and snot all up in the woman's no doubt, designer leather jacket. Santana never seemed to mind. She was the one who initiated the hug in the first place. But they never seemed to mind. Until one day…they do.

But her daughter was out there. She hadn't seen her for an hour. It's the longest she's ever willingly been away from her and that's the only reason why she got up off the bed and made her way to the door, baby still in her arms.

Or that's what she told herself.

Santana was worried.

She knew Dani was fine physically, but she had no idea if the woman was inside that room having a panic attack. She didn't check. She was packing out the bags that she had left neglected on the floor.

Her little helper wasn't doing a very good job at helping, but that made it all the more adorable.

Adorable. Santana had never used that word in her life. Not even to describe her coworkers' kids. Why start now?

Because her coworkers' kids had nothing on Izzy.

The little girl was currently clutching a stuffed tiger that Santana had seen and just had to get because she thought it was…adorable.

Toys were scattered out around her and Izzy but the little girl had only picked up the stuffed tiger, even though she had given her permission to play with them all.

She had become attached to the animal in such a short period of time.

Santana snorted. Figures. It's the same way she was slowly becoming attached.

Dani. Her mind travelled back to the woman again. She couldn't help but glance at the door like she had been doing every minute for the last hour.

She nearly broke her neck spinning it back around quickly when she saw the woman who had been invading her mind walk through the door.

She was holding baby Mathew in her arms, like he was going to protect her from whatever danger she would be facing right now.

Santana liked to think of herself as dangerous. But not to these people.

Never to these people.

Santana got up off the floor, brushing off her jeans even though she knew her house was spotless.

She didn't walk over to Dani. This time, she'd make Dani come to her. Maybe that's where she had gone wrong.

But Dani didn't move. She just stared.

Until Izzy spotted her.

"Mama!" The little girl was smiling from ear to ear when she spotted the woman at the opposite end of the room. She got up from where she had been sitting on the floor and half walked half ran over to her mother.

Dani broke eye contact with Santana and smiled down at her daughter who was now clutching to her leg.

"Hey." Santana said, feeling the need to break the silence.

Dani looked back up at her but didn't answer so Santana felt the need to keep talking.

"I was just packing out these stuff. Izzy was being my little helper." Santana said.

"Well, it looks like she didn't help much."

And Santana laughed. Because she was relieved. She had thought Dani would start ignoring her and just keep staring. She was glad that wasn't the case.

Dani smiled at her and then looked down at the bags that were still littering the doorway. Some of them were empty now, their items now on the floor.

"What are those?" Dani asked even though it was very obvious what they were.

"Yeah, Umm, I think I went a little overboard." Santana said, looking down, hands behind her back.

"A little?" Dani asked, eyebrow raised.

"Okay, a lot. Happy?" Santana loved this easy bantering. She thought things would be weird. They were practically strangers living in the same house. Of course she thought it would be weird. But she's glad that wasn't how it was going to be. Well, for now. She had no idea what would happen in the future. She hoped it was nothing too serious. She'd had enough drama in her life.

Dani just smiled at her before ruffling Izzy's hair.

"So you gonna help me or what?" Santana asked, feeling a little more comfortable to be herself. She wasn't hiding before but she wasn't being Santana Lopez either.

Dani looked at her for a moment before she walked over to where Santana was standing, still keeping some distance between them.

"I'll pay you back." Dani's aid and the Santana looked confused.

"Pay me back?"

"For this." Dani clarified, pointing at the bags and numerous toys that littered the floor.

Santana looked at her for a moment before answering.

"You can." And Dani was about to respond with an affirmation but Santana interrupted her. "But I won't let you." It was Dani's time to look confused.

"Why?" Dani asked with a tilt of her head. Santana tried to ignore the adorableness of the gesture and answer the question.

"Because, I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart. I don't do that often. And I don't know if it's the act or just you Dani but it feels damn good." And Santana wasn't lying. As embarrassing as it was to say, she wanted to get the point across. She thought she did.

Dani didn't say anything at first. She just watched as Izzy sat back down on the floor, the stuffed tiger still clutched in her hand, staring up at the two adults in the room.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Santana asked, genuinely surprised. She had expected Dani to insist. She seemed like the stubborn type. Maybe she had the same effect on Dani like the woman had on her.

Did she just admit that Dani had an effect on her?

…No.

"You said you needed help?" Dani broke her out of her inside conversation.

"Uh, yeah." Then Santana remembered something. "Oh! I bought this." She said before walking over to one of the biggest bags on the floor.

Dani just watched curiously as she opened the bag and her eyes widened when she saw what was concealed inside the bag.

Santana carried it back over to them, putting down in between herself and Dani. She looked up at Dani's face and immediately felt the need to justify her actions.

"I have a clean record. I don't wanna mess it up because I put a baby's life in danger." Santana said. And it was partially true. She wouldn't put Dani's kid in danger.

She realized Dani had yet to speak. She was still staring at the car seat like it would disappear if she took her eyes off it.

"Dani?" Dani's eyes snapped back up to meet Santana's.

"I have to pay you back for this." And there was no argument in her tone. She looked as serious as a heart attack.

"Okay." Santana found herself saying although she wasn't actually thinking of letting the blonde pay for it. She couldn't bring herself to charge Dani. The woman didn't even have a job and when she did get one- because Santana was going to make sure she did- she would be using it to build back her life and Santana was not going to take that money from her.

But she would give Dani the illusion that she had some semblance of control. Santana almost laughed at that. She liked to be in control all the time and now she was just giving it away.

Her life really was changing. That much was obvious.

For better or worse?

Well she didn't know yet. But she had a feeling it was the former.

* * *

**A/N: So i know this is short guys and I'm sorry. I'm super sick right now but I promised you guys that I wouldn't take so long to update again so bare with me okay guys? I promise the next one will be longer.  
**

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

They had finished packing out everything that Santana had bought. It took them an hour but it flew by for them both. Santana had urged Dani to place the baby in the car seat so she could help her pack out the stuff. It had taken her 5 minutes to convince her before she eventually heeded. They were sitting on the floor still, surrounded by a pile of folded clothes. Izzy was still sitting with them surrounded by the other toys. She had finally gathered the courage to pick up some of the other toys but she still clutched the tiger close to her. Santana had a feeling she wouldn't be parting with the plush animal anytime soon.

Looking back to the piles of clothes, one for each member of the Santiago family, Santana remembered how Dani had sworn to pay her back for each item of clothing. Every time Santana took out another piece of clothing, Dani was ready to vow to pay for it. It didn't matter how many times Santana told her it wasn't necessary, she still did it. Santana had just stopped answering her and let her have the satisfaction of thinking she had won but she knew she would not be taking a single dime from Dani.

"We should go put these away." Santana finally broke the silence. It wasn't the intense silence that she had found irritating in the hospital; it was a comfortable silence that she could bear, one that was not filled with distrust and suspicion.

"Ok." Dani answered and she got up off the floor, waiting for Santana to do the same. She lifted her son from the car seat where he had fallen asleep and cradled him in her arms. Santana watched them for a moment before she realized she was staring and quickly shifted her gaze to the stack of clothing on the floor.

Santana took up a pile of the baby's clothes and walked to the room that she had declared to be Dani's. She didn't realize Dani was following her until she put the clothes on the bed and turned around to open the drawer. She almost jumped out of her skin, holding her hand to her chest.

"Don't do that." Santana snapped but Dani didn't cower or frown.

She laughed.

And the little bit of anger that Santana had felt a while ago disappeared with the laughter. She was glad Dani felt comfortable enough around her to laugh at her.

Santana rolled her eyes and turned her back to the blonde to try and hide the smile that was forming on her lips without her consent.

Dani finally stopped laughing and just watched as Santana placed the items of clothing in the drawer.

"Do you need some help?" Dani asked her.

"No. But thanks for the offer. It's the least you could do after scaring me half to death." Santana said playfully.

Being playful was something new to her. She had thought an adult being playful was immature and stupid. Well, look at her now.

"I think you're over exaggerating a little." Dani said, tilting her head in the most adorable way Santana had ever seen.

"Mama." Santana had only just realized the blonde toddler who was now sitting on the edge of the bed, still clutching the tiger.

"Si, chica?" Dani answered in Spanish. It was one other thing that Santana had realized about the woman. It was one clue she had into the woman's background. She didn't grow up alone, that was for sure. Where else would she have picked up another language?

"Unless it was her native tongue.

"Tana?" Izzy calling her name brought her back to the present. She had to admit, she thought it was cute that the kid had given her a nick name.

"Yes?" She asked, turning her full attention to the little girl sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Tummy empty." She said in perfect English, pointing to her belly.

Santana raised an eyebrow. How much more adorable could this kid get?

How many times had she ever used the word adorable to describe anyone or anything?

"It is?" Santana asked.

"Si. Feed the monster." Izzy answered and just as she did, her stomach growled and she giggled. It was the first time Santana had ever heard it and she knew without a doubt she was definitely her mother's child. And for the second time in less than ten minutes, she couldn't resist the urge to smile.

* * *

They were all sitting in the living room, on the couches this time. All the clothes were in drawers and closets and most of the toys were stored away also, except for the ones Izzy had been laying with. The girl was hyperactive. She ran around and played for hours and Santana was powerless to stop her.

He eyes had a sparkle to them that made Santana wonder when the last time the girl ran around like this was. Probably never. And Santana never would have suspected it too. Izzy was so quiet when they had just met, which she realized was only some hours ago.

She was glad the girl felt comfortable enough to talk to her and run wild in her house. It meant they were progressing.

Dani though, was something different altogether.

They had just finished eating breakfast. Well, it was closer to lunch time than breakfast time but that's what they had eaten. Eggs, toast and bacon with milk and orange juice.

"She had thought Dani was warming up to or at least becoming comfortable with her. Now however, it didn't seem that way. The woman had barely ate any of the food she had put in front of her and after a few minutes of shoving around most of it, she had gathered up her son from the car seat she had put him in before and made her way to her bedroom and she had yet to come out.

Santana sighed. She had no idea what she had done. They were doing fine. They only talked to each other when Izzy asked them something or she was being adorable but…they talked and that was a good sign. Wasn't it?

Santana is beginning to think otherwise.

But she did realize that Dani trusted her enough to leave Izzy in her care. She had done the same thing the last time she had locked herself in the bedroom.

And even though Santana wished Dani would talk to her, she was glad that they had at least formed some kind of trust that the blonde thought she could trust her to take care of one of her children.

Now Santana just had to make the woman trust her enough to take care of _her_.

* * *

Santana knocked on the door of the bedroom.

It had been an hour; she had given the woman more than enough time.

Beside, Izzy had tired herself out running up and down and she was currently passed out in Santana's arms. She needed to put the girl down.

There was no answer on the other side. Santana was getting a little irritated. At this point, she just wanted to go for the damn key and open up the door.

But she knew she wouldn't. She couldn't. She would respect Dani's privacy, even if it was her own house.

"Dani, please open the door. Izzy's asleep and I need to put her down." If that didn't get her to open the door, Santana didn't know what would.

But the door did open.

Santana sighed in relief because she had no other tactic.

Dani didn't look at her. She just walked back over to the bed and sat on the edge of it, watching her son sleep.

She was wearing different clothes, clothes that Santana had bought for her. The woman had showered.

"Hi." Santana said as a means to build conversation.

Dani didn't even look at her.

Santana huffed and moved to the bed, gently laying Izzy unto it. The girl needed a bath too but Santana knew Dani wouldn't disrupt her sleep for it and Santana wouldn't either.

Santana didn't leave the room when she put Izzy down. No, she took a seat at the edge of the bed, right beside Dani.

"I'm not leaving this room until you talk to me." Santana said and she meant it. She wanted to know what she did wrong and for the first time in her life, she wanted to fix it.

Dani finally did look at her, but it was only for a second.

"Dani, talk to me." Santana was aware that it sounded like she was pleading but she was too concerned to care. Another thing she never thought she would feel again.

Concern.

She felt it once, it and so much more and all it led to was heartache and her crying herself to sleep too many nights. It's why she had shut everybody out.

Until now.

Dani was looking down at her hands, still not talking.

"Whatever it is that I did, I'm sorry. But if you don't tell me, how am I supposed to fix it?"

This finally had Dani looking up at her. She was searching her eyes. For what, Santana had no idea.

But it seems she had found it.

"It's not your fault." It was barely a whisper but they were sitting so close Santana heard her clearly. Santana was surprised because she really thought she had done something.

Maybe she had but Dani just didn't want to hurt her feelings or something. The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded but she asked anyway.

"Dani, if I did something wrong, tell me. Trust me when I say it was never my intention."

"You didn't do anything. I just… it's not you, okay?" Dani said and Santana was powerless to agree.

"Okay. But I still don't understand why you just…" Santana wanted to say Dani shut her out but the woman had barely let her in to begin with so she just didn't say it.

"I'm like that. One minute I'll laugh with you, then the next minute… it's not you Santana, trust me." And Dani as looking at her with those big brown eyes that could possibly see into her soul and Santana knew hen that blue eyes weren't the only ones you could drown in.

* * *

She had left Dani then. The blonde had assured her that she had nothing to do with her mood so there was really nothing else she could do than wait for her to get out of it.

She had some business to take care of anyway. She went into the living room and picked up her cell. She dialed a number and waited for the person to answer.

"What in the hell took you so long to call me back?!" She heard the familiar voice of her sometimes very annoying coworker.

"Good Morning, Berry." Santana said calmly if only to drive the woman on the other end of the phone even more insane.

"Don't you 'Good Morning' me. Sylvester is seething. I swear I saw steam coming out of her ears when I told her you're not coming in. Leave me to be skinned alive why don't ya?"

Santana chuckled at Rachel's over exaggeration. "Calm down, Berry. Sylvester won't eat you. She values the money you bring to the company. You're safe, for now."

"How very reassuring." The sarcasm was dripping from her every word. She was spending too much time in the presence of Santana.

"Kurt said he went looking for you earlier today." The line went silent as Santana stiffened and Rachel waited for a response.

"Tell Kurt to mind his own damn business." She snapped at Rachel.

"He just wanted to check-"

"I don't need a fucking babysitter!" Santana was getting angry. She felt like she usually felt on a daily basis; angry, frustrated and down right pissed.

"I know Santana and he does too but deny it all you want, we're your friends and when the master of punctuality doesn't show up on time, well someone's gotta be suspicious." Rachel said softly, trying to calm her friend down.

Santana knew she was right. She knew they cared and even though Rachel was right and she wouldn't dare acknowledge it, they were the closest things to friends she had. She kept them out of her heart but they didn't keep them out of theirs and for that, she was grateful.

"Tell Kurt to not come back over here unless I tell him to." She told Rachel.

"Santana-"

"Don't argue with me Rachel. Please." And there Santana went again with the pleas. It felt weird in her mouth, like a sprite gone bad but she ignored it for now. She needed Rachel to listen to her.

"Santana, what the hell is going on? And don't tell me to mind my own business because right now, Sylvester breathing down my neck, you _are_ my business." Rachel's voice was firm. It was the voice she used when she was interrogating a suspect. It was her do or die voice.

Santana surrendered.

"Come over for dinner." Was all she said before she hung up the phone because she was seriously getting a migraine.

She had no idea why she invited Rachel over. What if Dani had another freak out? She wouldn't forgive herself.

But she had a feeling the woman's anxiety was only around men. She snorted at that because she herself was more a man than Kurt would ever be.

It was time for her to clean herself up and do some paperwork. Her headache increased just thinking about it.

* * *

She had fallen asleep.

She didn't know when but she did.

There was paper suck to her face and she was pretty sure there was drool on the evidence paper.

She groaned and got up from her bed where she had been doing the paper work. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand.

It said 15 past 5.

But that couldn't be right. She had barely closed her eyes for a minute or two.

If the clock was right, she'd been asleep for over 5 hours. She had guest and she had slept away half the day.

She was ready to fly out bed when,

"Tana?"

She was pretty sure that she almost hit her head on the ceiling. That's how far Santana had jumped.

"Inherited our mother's ability to give me heart attacks I see."

Izzy covered her mouth and giggled. At least she had the decency to hide it.

Santana smiled at her. "Where's your mom, chica?"

"Sleepy time." Izzy answered her.

Then suddenly Santana realized. Her room was upstairs. Dani's room was downstairs.

"How did you get up here?" Santana asked.

"Mama!" Izzy answered, quite excited.

"Your mama carried you up here?" Santana asked, surprised. She didn't think Dani could manage stares yet. Well apparently she was wrong.

"Si." Izzy said while nodded her head.

"Okay. Let's go find her shall we?" Santana said. She slid off the bed before taking Izzy into her arms.

She walked down the stairs with the toddler in her arms, heading for Dani's room. The door was slightly ajar so Santana knocked lightly before entering the room. The woman was sleeping with her back to the door, curled around what Santana knew was the blanketed form of baby Mathew.

They were adorable. That word was becoming a part of her everyday vocabulary.

And it had barely been a day.

If she wasn't so tired, she would have slapped herself silly.

But she was too tired for this shit.

Adorably was adorable and she didn't give a damn what her stupid brain thought.

Because her heart was saying something totally different.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I know you all probably hate me now and I'm sorry but I really can't control my sickness. It was worst than I thought and it kept me from writing...  
**

**Well it didn't keep me from writing, my mom did. **

**But I'm healthy again for the most part and back with tons of ideas and stuff oh and if there's anything you guys wanna see happen just say the word and I'll see what we can do.**

**Again guys, forgive me.**

**Please review. Xoxo**


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